So how does evreyone feel on figures like this. For instance figures such as universe silverbolt, onslaught, special edition dragstrip or even the rotf constructicons.

Personally although I love the characters when they dont combine i really cant consider them a good figure incarnation. How do other people feel?

Click to expand...

I think forgetting, for a bit, that they are part of a gestalt really allows the individual personality of the character to shine. Plus no sacrifices are made for a combined mode so you usually get a better figure in the end.

I think forgetting, for a bit, that they are part of a gestalt really allows the individual personality of the character to shine. Plus no sacrifices are made for a combined mode so you usually get a better figure in the end.

Click to expand...

This.
I really never liked combiners at all, and preferred the individual bots. I'd love for a mass release of a new Razorclaw, or Scrapper, or Motormaster without having to sacrifice design space for a gimmick.

I think forgetting, for a bit, that they are part of a gestalt really allows the individual personality of the character to shine. Plus no sacrifices are made for a combined mode so you usually get a better figure in the end.

Click to expand...

I agree that forgetting they are combiners for a good while in fiction is absolouteley great to see the chracters shine on their own. However when it comes to figures i just can't take it.

I guess from one perspective it's better than nothing. I felt this way originally when Silverbolt and Onslaught were originally unveiled for Universe 2.0. However, I honestly feel like the combined mode/combiner team is such an integral part of these characters that it feels as though they are incomplete without them. Unfortunately, Hasbro seems to think that full on combiners are a bad idea (they stated when Power Core Combiners was being shown off at Botcon that they could do "traditional" combiners, but that they "wanted to try something new").

I get the opinion that it's more of a "cost and expense" thing as opposed to just being a "bad idea" as back during Energon they stated various reasons of cost/production/distribution as to why the three teams had to have only two limb molds repainted twice instead of four different limbs for each one. Than you have the issue of some of the limbs shelf warming in certain areas so that you never see the other limbs in a later wave. Or you get the issue that you had in RID where all the parts to the combiner were released only in one wave (Build & Bullet Train Teams were released this way) so if you don't snatch them all up at once... you miss them. Based on some things stated by reps at Hasbro they don't seem happy with either option and have said more than once that "combiners are a tricky thing at retail" more or less.

All that said; it could be a good while before Hasbro decides to go back and try "traditional combiners" again. Thankfully third party companies have taken an interest in getting some of the combiners out there (either by making a full blown one of their own or fixing up some of Hasbro's recent attempts) and that is cool if you can afford it. Otherwise I guess if you want the characters you have to accept what Hasbro offers us.

So far we have:

Universe Silverbolt, Universe Onslaught, Universe Drag Strip, Henkei Wildrider and Henkei Strafe. Along with three so-so attempts by Hasbro to repaint their three Energon Gestalts into G1 versions. Frankly, if they were going to make them not combine I would like them to finish off the teams at least, but then they haven't even given us anymore Dinobots outside of Grimlock.

don't forget about Reveal the Shield Strafe. It is pretty lame that the new combiners don't seem to combine. When I originally heard about Powercore, I thought we were finally going to get the missing combiner teams, but Powercore was a pretty big let down, and horribly scaled to the rest of the figures.

I think forgetting, for a bit, that they are part of a gestalt really allows the individual personality of the character to shine. Plus no sacrifices are made for a combined mode so you usually get a better figure in the end.

I'm perfectly fine with them. It helps that I understand Hasbro's reason for not making them combiners. Honestly, I'd rather have one really cool figure, rather than a team of small and crappy figures that combine into a bigger and crappier robot.